Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by
Kevin Toupin
Director, Boiler Equipment
Riley Power Inc.
Presented at
International Biomass Conference
April 28-30, 2009
Portland, Oregon
by:
Kevin Toupin
Director Boiler Equipment
Riley Power Inc.
presented at:
International Biomass Conference
April 28 - 30, 2009
Portland, Oregon
ABSTRACT
There is a need for todays power plants to meet the growing demand for electricity while
achieving efficient combustion, low emissions, and fuel flexibility. Biomass boilers equipped
with new boiler and combustion techniques to enhance efficiency resulting in lower heat rates,
as well as new, proven emissions control devices to significantly reduce NOx and CO emissions,
have been developed to meet this need. This paper will discuss new combustion and emissions
control technology advancements and present quantitative comparisons of new units to the
existing operating biomass boilers. (To increase combustion efficiency, new over-fire air and
stoker technologies are employed). Emissions are controlled using a system called an RSCR,
which is a selective catalytic device applied to the cold gas (after the boiler and particulate
removal equipment) prior to its discharge to the stack. The RSCR System is capable of NOx
reductions of >70% and CO reductions of >50%. The paper will describe the overall
performance of a typical biomass boiler plant using these new technologies. The paper will also
provide actual operating data on an RSCR which was retrofitted to an existing biomass
fired unit.
INTRODUCTION
There is a need for todays power plants to meet the growing demand for electricity while at the same
time achieving efficient combustion, low emissions, and fuel flexibility. Biomass boilers equipped
with new boiler and combustion techniques enhance efficiency, which results in lower heat rates.
Combined with new, proven emissions control devices to significantly reduce NOx and CO emissions,
the challenge of meeting higher energy demands will be met.
In the first section, this paper will discuss biomass and supplemental co-firing fuels, new
boiler/combustion system advancements, as well as quantitative comparisons of the new units
available today to existing biomass boilers in operation. Advancements, such as a new Over-Fire Air
(OFA) design and state-of-the-art stoker technology with grate oscillation/vibration, are used to
increase combustion efficiency. The furnace is designed to reduce flue gas laning along the walls and
increase the mixing of fuel and air. Without impacting performance these improvements afford better
fuel utilization, lower unburned carbon, lower CO emissions and the ability to handle a wide range
of fuel moisture content.
The second section of the paper deals with a new system for the reduction of NOx emissions to levels
previously unheard of for biomass boilers. Emissions are controlled using a system called an
RSCR, which is a selective catalytic device applied to the cold gas (after the boiler and
particulate removal equipment) prior to its discharge to the stack, achieving NOx reductions of >70%.
This paper will describe the design and overall performance of a typical biomass boiler plant using
these new technologies. The paper will also provide actual operating data on an RSCR, which has
been retrofitted to existing biomass-fired units.
Heat Input
Generate the heat input necessary to produce the desired boiler steam flow, pressure and
temperature
Low Emissions
Produce low carbon monoxide (CO), low unburned carbon (UBC) and low nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Fuel Flexibility
Capable of firing a variety of fuels
Co-firing and/or alternate fuel firing capability allows the plant to:
Stay on-line if the main fuel is disrupted
Be more economically viable based on fuel costs
BIOMASS FUELS
Three Ts of Combustion
The age-old Three-Ts of combustion, Time/Temperature/Turbulence, apply to the design of an
efficient biomass stoker combustion system. Some of the combustion design parameters that play an
important role in meeting the requirements of the Three-Ts on stoker units are fuel characteristics,
fuel distribution, air distribution, fuel/air mixing, reduced air infiltration and furnace retention time.
*
*
Reduced air infiltration by new seal designs (air bypassing the combustion system)
Refer to the boiler arrangement shown in Figure 1, Typical Modern Biomass Stoker Boiler System.
Economizer
Overfire air
Furnace arches
Fuel distribution
Cinder reinjection
Oscillating/vibrating
water-cooled stoker
Environmental
Equipment
Figure 1: Typical Modern Biomass Stoker Boiler System
Modernized Stoker
Design
100 - 500
100 - 500
600 - 900
1,250 - 1,650
Steam Temperature F
650 - 850
955 - 1,000
2.0 - 4.0
1.0 - 1.5
1.5 - 2.0
3.0
1,000,000 - 1,200,000
850,000 (maximum)
68.40
71.25
0.35 - 0.60
(430 - 735)
0.10 - 0.30
(122 - 370)
Base
0.05-0.15
(61 - 185)
(-50%)
0.15 - 0.20
(112 -145)
0.15 - 0.25
(112 - 188)
Base
0.10 - 0.17
(75 - 130)
(-30 to 40%)
0.06 - 0.075
(45 - 56)
(-60 to 80%)
Emissions:
CO lbs/106 Btu @ 3.0% O2
(ppm)
CO w/ RSCR lbs/106 Btu @ 3.0% O2
(ppm)
NOx lbs/106 Btu @ 3.0% O2
(ppm)
(1) Based on flue gas velocities, fuel particle retention will be longer due to size, weight, moisture content, etc.
(2) Boiler efficiency based on 50% moisture wood (efficiency improvement results from lower UBC, lower stack
temperature, lower excess air)
Note: The above summary lists general or typical performance results. The performance will vary based on individual
manufacturer's designs and performance.
The benefits of the modernized stoker system are exhibited in the combustion system:
*
*
*
*
Stability
Lower CO emissions
Lower unburned carbon
Capable of firing various fuel
All of these parameters can be directly measured and the improvements evaluated. However, these
improvements, as associated with all combustion processes, optimize the combustion process but do
not reduce the NOx emissions. In-fact, NOx tends to increase with combustion optimization. Methods
for reducing NOx emissions consist of: lowering excess air (approx. 5% reduction), adding flue gas
recirculation (approx. 10% reduction), adding a SNCR (approx. 40% reduction), and/or adding a back
end RSCR (approx. 70% reduction as discussed later in this paper).
FUEL FLEXIBILITY
Fuel flexibility is becoming more important as biomass fired power plants become more prevalent.
The primary advantages of fuel flexibility include:
1. Allows the plant to be more economically viable by the having the ability/option to fire
less costly fuels
2. Supplies back-up fuel sources for the main fuel
An example of fuel flexibility is a plant located in the North East. Originally designed for whole tree
wood chips, this plant had economic issues due to high wood chip fuel costs. Consequently alternate
fuels were investigated. The first alternate fuel tested was Construction & Demolition (C&D) wood.
Due to boiler fouling, emissions, ash disposal and permit issues C&D fuel was not selected. Further
fuel evaluations included Landfill Gas (a landfill is located approximately one mile from the boiler)
and clean Paper Waste (cubed). Both fuels proved technically and economically viable and are
currently co-fired along with the original wood chip fuel.
The combustion methods include:
*
Landfill Gas (after it is cleaned, filtered and moisture removed) is injected into the
auxiliary/start-up burners at approximately 20% of total heat input
Paper cubes are uniformly mixed with the wood chips and distributed on the grate
combustion system at approximately 10 - 20% of total heat input
Refer to Figure 2, Biomass Stoker Boiler System with Co-firing Fuel Capability.
Note: Uniform fuel mixing and distribution is essential when co-firing fuels. Improper mixing can lead to combustion,
emission and boiler performance problems such as steam temperature unbalances, high CO emissions, etc.
When evaluating new fuels, co-firing and/or alternate, the following is a general list of items that need
to be investigated:
*
Fuel cost
Emissions analysis
Permit(s) review
Co-Firing Fuels
Landfill Gas, Paper Cubes, Waste Coals
Existing
Auxiliary/Start-up
Burner with Landfill
Gas Injection
DESIGN DETAILS
The major equipment design upgrades associated with stoker combustion improvements are:
1. Fuel Feed and Distribution
2. Stoker
3. Furnace
4. Over-fire Air
5. Cinder Reinjection Systems
Improved pneumatic fuel distributor designs allowing for side and depth distribution
adjustments. This is achieved by controlling the air pressure, air vanes, and fuel
trajectory plate angle
Improved control room excess oxygen measurement across the boiler width by the use of
multiple oxygen sensors located at the economizer outlet. The excess oxygen profile across
the
unit is a direct indication of the combustion system fuel and air distribution.
Analyzing the
excess O2 profile across the unit, the operator can adjust the fuel and
air distribution to
optimize combustion
*
Improved control system capable of biasing individual feeder fuel flows to balance the fuel
distribution on the grate
Capability of distributing various fuels with varying sizes, densities and moisture contents
2. Stoker Designs
Objective: Provide a surface to combust the larger fuel particles and the ability to remove ash and
inorganic materials after combustion.
Enhancements:
*
Improved combustion air distribution by compartmentalizing the grate air plenum. This
allows for control of the air flow to the grate sections for balancing or biasing air flow to
the grate
Improved designs for increased grate clip pressure drop (increased back pressure), which
improves the air distribution through the grate and reduces the influence of the fuel/ash bed
thickness on air distribution
Improved grate clip metallurgy allowing for combustion air temperatures up to 600F.
Higher combustion air temperatures improve the drying of high moisture woods
Improved stoker seal designs to reduce leakage around the periphery of the stoker
Improved fuel and air mixing reduced fuel piling and improved fuel distribution by using
grate surface oscillation/vibration
Increased grate surface casting life by the use of a water-cooled grate surface. Water-cooled
surfaces allow the capability to vary air flow as required without overheating the grate cast
surface (i.e. the surfaces do not require air flow for cooling) and also reduce maintenance
costs
Design of the grate surface area for a maximum heat release rate of 850,000 Btu/hr-ft2
(previous designs were at 1,000,000 and greater)
3. Furnace Designs
Objective: To combust the fuel and recover radiant heat generated by the combustion process. Refer
to Figure 3, Furnace Design Objectives, which illustrates the separate furnace zones and design
objectives.
Enhancements:
*
New furnace designs include flat wall, single arch and double arch designs all with
multi level OFA systems
Increase the turbulence and mixing of the OFA and fuel in the combustion process by
improved nozzle penetration and optimized nozzle locations
Control capability for varying the OFA flow to optimize combustion during fuel changes
and at reduced loads
Use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling to optimize the OFA system design
Capable of adjusting OFA flow to match the fuel being supplied to the boiler. For example,
increasing the OFA flow rate when the fuel has more fines
Improved sand separator designs with the development of rotary sand separators and
vibrating sand separators for increased performance and reliability
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REFERENCES
1. Advisory Ruling, Northern Power Systems, Inc., Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of
Consumer Affairs & Business Regulations, Division of Energy Resources, May 2004